Ab Initio Study of the Structures, Bonding Interactions, and Thermal Stability of the Li-Decorated 2D Biphenylene Sheet.

We performed an extensive study on the most stable structures, the electronic properties, and the thermal stability of the 2D biphenylene sheet decorated with Li atoms. Our structural results show that the Li storage capacity of biphenylene is much higher than that recently reported, which increases the interest in this 2D material as a promising anode material for Li-ion batteries, although Li diffusion is not expected at room temperature. Moreover, we found striking phenomena that had not been detected yet, such as the formation of Li zigzag wires and metallic Li monolayers on the biphenylene sheet beyond a certain coverage threshold.

Are zinc clusters really amorphous? A detailed protocol for locating global minimum structures of clusters.

We report the results of a conjoint experimental/theoretical effort to assess the structures of free-standing zinc clusters with up to 73 atoms. Experiment provides photoemission spectra for ZnN- cluster anions, to be used as fingerprints in structural assessment, as well as mass spectra for both anion and cation clusters. Theory provides both a detailed description of a novel protocol to locate global minimum structures of clusters in an efficient and reliable way, and its specific application to neutral and charged zinc clusters.

Understanding the CO Dissociation in [Fe(CN)(CO)(dithiolate)] Complexes with Quantum Chemical Topology Tools.

The active site of the [NiFe]-hydrogenase contains a pentacoordinated iron atom; therefore, a vacant coordination site is available for substrate binding. Nonetheless, most organometallic models of the [NiFe]-hydrogenase failed to reproduce this key feature of the active site. In order to rationalize such behavior, quantum chemical calculations were carried out on a series of [Fe(CN)(CO)(dithiolate)] n = 1,2 complexes, where dithiolate denotes the ligands (CF)CS, (COMe)CS, PhCS, CClHS, CHS, CHS, and CHS.

CuAAC Click Reactions in the Gas Phase: Unveiling the Reactivity of Bis-Copper Intermediates.

Copper-catalysed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) has been considered a breakthrough transformation over the last 15 years. Its debated mechanism arouses continuously growing interest. By means of a mass spectrometer modified ad hoc, the entire catalytic cycle of CuAAC reaction has been investigated in the gas phase.

Insulating or metallic: coexistence of different electronic phases in zinc clusters.

How many of the several attributes of the bulk metallic state persist in a nanoparticle containing a finite number of atoms of a metallic element? Do all those attributes emerge suddenly at a well-defined cluster size or do they rather evolve at different rates and in a broad size range? These fundamental questions have been addressed through a conjoint experimental/theoretical investigation of zinc clusters. We report the observation of novel coexistence phenomena involving different electronic phases: for some sizes, metallic and insulating electronic states coexist within a single, Janus-like, nanoparticle; for the rest of sizes, we report the coexistence of two weakly interacting metallic phases with different dimensionalities, localized at the shell and the core of the nanoparticle. These fascinating features are due to an anomalously long core-shell separation that equips the shell and core regions with largely independent structural, vibrational, and thermal properties.

A new magnetic superatom: Cr@Zn₁₇.

We demonstrate, by means of fully unconstrained density functional theory calculations, that cluster Zn17 endohedrally doped with a Cr impurity can be qualified as a magnetic superalkali cluster. We explain the origin of its high stability, its low vertical ionization potential and its high total spin magnetic moment which amounts to 6 μB, exactly the same value as that of the isolated Cr atom. With the aim of exploring the possibility of designing a bistable magnetic nanoparticle, with a corresponding inter-unit exchange coupling, we also consider the assembling of two such units through different contact regions and in different magnetic configurations.